Hmm ... Self and World ... What on earth does he think
is Emerson's conception of the WORLD?
-- Well, it's not a seamless unity, contrary to what some would think;
it's something like the concrete reality of experienceable objects
around us, pervaded with general laws operating in the world --
I like your style.
-- one of the most memorable quips by Mr. Lysaker, after I had
basically commented I didn't feel like answering one question of his ..
Some of your citations from Emerson manifest supreme selectivity.
You narrow down the project too much when you ignore them.
-- No, I think YOU narrow the project too much!
[the remark followed by a quirky face from myself, which many of the
folks in the audience, as I later learned, had apparently noticed ;]
[the distinguished custos, Professor Leila Haaparanta,
throwing her occasional glance over the dissertation]
Perhaps, in the end, we side with the
divine precisely when we don't see it?
-- Yes, perhaps so indeed. Though I do place a bulk of emphasis
on how we might actually experience divinity in our lives, there
is a sense in which such experiences are always fleeting --
.. After about three hours of relatively relaxed discussion,
(I was starting to get tired though) the discussion was declared
closed, and we were happy to head out for coffee & cake ..
Pictures by Nemanja Balcin,
published with infinite gratitude --
